Day 228: Jer 15:1 - 18:22

It's always reassuring to get to the part in a group of judgment verses when we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. We see in the middle of this passage that although God will let His children be punished and let them pay for their wrongdoings, He will always keep an eye on the ones who still love Him. It seems to me that perhaps there are alot of believers out there who have seen the filth and trouble that our society has gotten itself into and they've just decided to give up on account that God is going to punish our nation and we'll all have to pay even if we didn't do anything wrong. I completely disagree with that. I don't believe for one second that our God is incapable of distinguishing between His children and those who have turned their backs on Him. We have seen time and time again that we serve a God of redemption and if we will come back to Him, He will welcome us with open arms because whether we realize it or not, He was always right there waiting for us to return.

- Father, help me to be able to communicate Your grace and mercy to those in need. Help me to be able to show others that serving You is not hopeless. You are a merciful God and if we will turn to You, You will turn to us and heal us. -

Day 227: Jer 11:1 - 14:22

If I'm honest, I have to say that reading these passages makes it difficult to consider the fact that we serve a loving merciful God. I suppose reading it from this perspective is alot like seeing a parent spank their child without ever really seeing what the child did wrong or what sort of conversations were had with the child prior. The bottom line though, is that we serve a God of justice, and He can't help but handle things justly. We now live the age of Grace and because God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, we have been justified and have covenant right to be forgiven if we will turn from our wicked ways and follow Him. However, grace doesn't apply to those who don't accept it. And just like God didn't have a choice whether or not He wanted to punish the Israelites for what they had become, He doesn't have a choice but to allow the sins of our society to swallow them whole. We must remember that although we are in this world we must never become a part of this world. God wants to separate the grain from the chaff and if we don't distinguish ourselves as grain belonging to Him, we will be in some serious trouble.

- Lord, thank You for offering us Your grace. We don't deserve forgiveness or redemption, but You sent Your one and only Son for that express purpose and as long as we accept that gift that You have so freely given, we can come confidently before You knowing that You will accept our sacrifices of praise. -

Day 226: Jer 7:34 - 10:25

It's so interesting to read these verses and realize that although the problems and punishments seem to be very complicated and involved, the solution is such an easy one. All that God is requiring is that His people turn themselves around and put their eyes upon Him. It's amazing how sinful humans can take such an easy concept and pervert it and destroy it and turn it into such a complicated mess that no man could ever fix. The human condition always seems to push us towards acting like complete idiots when we find ourselves in trouble. It seems idiotic to think that the children of Israel would fall into such trouble with worshiping idols and evil spirits and yet the only solution they could think of was to get deeper and deeper into those addictions. We need to learn now while our feet are still on the ground that the only solution to our problem is our Father in Heaven. When the only thing we can see is the problem in front of us, that's when we need to rely on what God has shown us and let Him take us back to the place where we are fully reliant on Him.

- Lord, I want to get it through my head right now that You will always be the solution to the problem. I know that it's easy to get distracted with the problem and forget to put my focus on You, but I choose to develop those habits now so when the fight comes, I will be ready. -

Day 225: Jer 5:1 - 7:33

It's so terrifying to imagine the idea of God turning His back on His people. And yet, even though we know that God didn't permanently turn His back, there was an obvious result that came about from Him turning His back. I don't know how close He is to turning His back on our society, but I know that I definitely don't want to be around to see it. We have already built such a society of destruction and danger, I can't even imagine what would happen if we were left completely alone. And that idea is the very thing that should fuel us as a body of believers to pray for our nation and for those leading our society. I don't care what time period we're in, there have always been and there will always be corrupt people in charge, but it's our job as Christians to stand firm and seek God's face so that He doesn't turn His back on us. There are plenty of people working very hard to ruin it for us, but we must always remember that "Stronger is He that is in me than he that is in the world!"

- Lord, give me the strength to continue to stay faithful to You. Help me to never stop praying for this nation and the people leading our society. You are a faithful God and I know that with Your help, we can be faithful children. -

Day 224: Jer 2:18 - 4:31

In the book of jeremiah we see the prophet very precisely comparing the nation of Israel to an unfaithful bride. Of course, throughout the Bible, we can see that the people of Israel are a picture of the modern day church. It's sad to say that the church in many ways has turned into a very unfaithful bride. The church has found a new lover and left God in the back room. Many churches have decided that their numbers or money or fame is really what God would want them to have. They try to "reach" as many people as they can by making everything as seeker friendly and convenient as possible. The church has taken the black-and-white, all-or-nothing Gospel and turned it into a much softer, easier group of suggestions that people are welcome to try out if they "feel led." The point is, God is waiting for His unfaithful bride to return. The church needs to quit focusing on itself and turn its eyes towards the Creator - the only One who truly knows and loves His children.

- Lord, help me to be faithful to You. And I pray that you bring the church back to the place where it belongs in Your heart. I know that it's not something that happens instantly with no real effort, but I pray that You give me the know-how to be a part of a ministry that will be an example and show others how to come back to Your arms. -

Day 223: Is 65:1 - Jer 2:17

The beginning of the book of Jeremiah is a very encouraging way to start of a book of the Bible. Jeremiah didn't spend his entire life looking and searching for a purpose. He didn't consult all of the wisest and best spiritual leaders of the town to find out what his purpose was. He was simply faithful to God and God laid it all out right in front of him. It's sad to say that alot of believers today think that it's their job to search out and travel far and wide in order to find out what God has planned for their lives. I think if we will just be faithful to do what God said to do right now, He will show us the next step and He will ultimately show us what He has created us for. I also love the fact that God didn't just tell him what to do and then left him to do it. God explained to him that He would be right by his side all of the time and God reassured him that all he needed to do was trust in God and he would be taken care of.

- Lord, thank You for showing me what You want me to do with my life. I know that You haven't shown me every detail yet, but You have shown me where to start and You've promised me that You'll not only be nearby watching, but You will pick me up when I fall and push me forward when I'm not sure I can go on. -

Day 222: Is 59:21 - 64:12

I love how even a heavy and mostly negative book like Isaiah still shows us that we serve a God of redemption. I think one of the best qualities of this book is the deep contrasts between being under the blessing of God and being under a curse. There are alot of people out there who seem to think that God is the one who makes that determination. If He wants to fight us and make our lives miserable. If He wants to completely bless us and make our lives amazing, He will. And if He wants to just completely ignore us and leave us to fend for ourselves, well then He'll just do that. But the truth is, God wants to shower His blessings on each and every one of us, but we have to understand that it's entirely up to us as to whether or not that will happen. God has given us His Word and in it are thousands of examples of what to do and how to do it. It would be crazy for Him to just blindly bless everyone regardless of whether or not they serve Him. God has a deep desire to bless us and rescue us from the attacks of the enemy, we just have to be faithful first to follow Him and let Him pull us out of the pit that we're in.

- Lord, I know that blessings from You aren't just some random shot in the dark that You give out like You see fit. You honor those who honor Your Word. Help me to be more like on of those people not just so I can be blessed and have alot of stuff, but so that I can be a light and use the blessings that You have given me to bless those around me. -

Day 221: Is 54:1 - 59:20

You know, whenever I think of the Old Testament, I usually think about the Law and of the strict rules and regulations. But we can see, especially in chapter 56, the truth that what is going on on the outside isn't nearly as important as where your heart is. We see in this chapter that God is willing to take people who have made horrible mistakes and people of the "wrong" ethnic backgrounds just the same as He will take people who were born into the right family and followed all of the rules. There are so many people out there who want to change people before they let them come to church. The truth of the matter is that God is way too busy and way too deep to waste His time caring about who a person's parents are or how they wear their hair. As long as we are faithfully serving God and being obedient to His Word, we don't have to meet all of the credentials that religion would "require" us to meet. All we have to do is stay faithful to Him and He will stay faithful to us.

- Father, help me to not pass judgment on others simply because I think they don't fit the mold of what I think a Christian should be. Help me to love and accept people the way You do and base my decisions on who they are rather than what my personal opinions are. You have called us to reach others for You and not so we can conform them into something that we are more comfortable with. -

Day 220: Is 49:1 - 53:12

It's easy to feel like God is so incredibly big that He would never want to take the time to deal with people so small and insignificant as us. And yet throughout the book of Isaiah, we see such wonderful examples of our God Who is enormous and strong enough to dry up all of the waters on the earth and put out the lights in the sky, and He still has enough love for us to come down to our level and involve Himself in every area of our lives that we will allow Him to be a part of. One of the biggest lies that the devil tries to throw at us is that we are too small and insignificant for God to waste His time with. I think sometimes, the devil knows that he doesn't have a chance getting us to turn our backs on Christianity, but he knows that if he can at least discourage us enough, we will go through our entire lives without knowing the true victory that God is offering us. We must always remember that God desires to see us successful and blessed in every area of our lives. Not just so that we can show off, but so that we can show Him off and bring glory to His name!

- Lord, come in and take over every area of my life. I don't want to barely make it into Heaven. I want to come flying in with hundreds of thousands of changed lives right behind me because I have listened to Your voice and opened my life up to You. You are worthy of everything I have to offer so I offer You everything I have so You can use and work through me as You see fit. -

Day 219: Is 44:28 - 48:22

I love the part in this passage that talks about the futility of questioning God's authority. Isaiah compares it to a piece of pottery trying to tell the potter what to make, or an unborn child griping at his mother for forcing him to live inside her belly. We as Christians often times find ourselves in situations where we act like this, and if we take a step back and look at things in perspective, it really doesn't make much sense. Who are we to tell God what is best for us or anyone else for that matter? Who are we to complain and say that we "deserve" something better or easier. Based on our sinful nature, all we really deserve is death and hell, so I'm thinking maybe we should just let the God who created us make the decisions for us. I don't know much about pottery, but I do know that if the potter is trying to make something and the piece of clay doesn't seem to be cooperating, the potter will oftentimes smash the piece of clay back into a useless lump, add some water or dirt, and then start over. As pieces of clay we must understand that the more we try to take control, the more we will find ourselves back at the beginning, but if we will just allow ourselves to be molded into the people that God is calling us to be, we will be able to have life and live it in abundance right in the middle of His will.

- God, I want to be the type of clay that is easy to mold into the vessel that You desire. I want to be the type of clay that is formed quickly and cooked properly the first time that so that instead of wasting my time being re-molded and re-fired, I can move on to doing and succeeding at all that You have called me to do! -

Day 218: Is 41:29 - 44:27

You know, I've never really thought very deep into it, but now that I think about it, it seems like we, as humans, have a tendency to think of God as someone who, even when He wants to help us, just sits back and lets us come to Him. It seems like the default way to look at it is when we fall and hurt ourselves, it's our job to crawl back to Him and then He'll let us back. But looking at these passages, we're reminded that God is ready to do whatever it takes to get us back into His arms. God is willing to trade in the entire world to have His people come back and let Him take care of them. I mean, obviously God is willing to work towards it, He sent His one and only Son to be killed so that we could be with Him. I think we need to stop looking at God as if He were some angry parent standing at the front door waiting for His misbehaved child to come home and understand that He wants more than anything else to go out, find His children and take them home.

- Father, help me to stop thinking of You as an angry parent waiting for the lost of the world to come back to You. You are a God of mercy and devotion to Your children and help me to be Your hands and You feet so that through me, You will be able to go out into the world and bring Your children home. -

Day 217: Is 37:38 - 41:28

This passage is a very powerful one. We see here the prophet speaking out against other nations and their false gods. There are alot of people these days who think that our society has moved away from idols and false gods, but the truth is, we've just turned them into something more abundant and complex than anything people could have imagined in Bible times. How foolish is it of us to commit our lives and attention to something that relies on us to even exist. How could we possibly put our hope in something that needs us to survive. Whether it's a celebrity, money, power, or some sort of physical item, we will never find love and happiness devoting our lives to those things. Jehovah is the only One who is worthy of our praise. He not only created us, but He also created everything that we could possibly ever use to make our own "creations." He formed the earth and he hung the sun and the moon in the sky. He is the reason that everything exists and He is the only One worthy of our praise.

- Father, help me to never allow my praise to be applied to something or someone else. You are the only One worthy of praise and I vow to offer that praise to You as long as there is breath in my lungs. -

Day 216: Is 33:24 - 37:37

This part of Isaiah is interesting because although most of the book so far has been prophecy, we see a little bit of narrative added in. I really enjoy reading this story because the simplicity of it is so obvious and yet sadly unexpected. It seems like in this day and age, Christians all over the world are being confronted with "Assyrian kings" of their own each and every day. We stand and see obstacles looming high over head and the first natural thought to enter our minds is how impossible it would be to defeat that enemy. Some Christians decide to try to fight it using their own intuition and know-how. They think that they can outsmart the enemy and figure their own way out of this mess. Others are instantly convinced that they have absolutely no hope against these enemies and they immediately lie down and die. But sadly, only a few have the wisdom and faith enough to do like Hezekiah and bring it to the Father and let Him take care of it. We need to stop stressing and worrying about our situations and understand that if we will turn to God first, we'll be able to save alot of time and heartache.

- Father, You know that my natural tendency is to stress out and try to figure things out on my own, but I know that if I will turn to You first, You will be faithful and spare me the pain and frustration of doing it on my own. My job is not to take care of it on my own, my job is to trust in You and allow You to work through these hands. -

Day 215: Is 30:1 - 33:23

I love chapter 33 because although many of the previous chapters in this book have alluded to God's willingness and desire to rescue us, we haven't really seen much about that. So far we've seen alot of death and destruction, but we finally get to see some retribution in this chapter. I know this seems to be somewhat of a common theme that I tend to write about, but so many times, we just get caught up in the problems and the troubles and the things that we did wrong and we don't stop to realize that if we will turn ourselves around, God will rescue us. We see in these passages that God finally decided to step in and He fought with the gloves off. So many times we have this silly notion that if God ever does decide to help us out, it'll probably be difficult to tell if he's really helping us because He'll act so subtly and "mysteriously." I think that's absolutely wrong. God is a big God and He does everything big. When we ask for His help and He gives it to us, not only will we know, but everyone around us will see it too.

- Lord, thank You for Your willingness to pick us up out of the mess that we've made. You are a faithful Father and we can rest knowing that You will always be there waiting to pick us up and take us to the place where You are calling us. -

Day 214: Is 26:1 - 29:24

I love the analogy at the end of chapter 28 comparing believers to farmers. It is so true that there are many out there who think that simply repeating one task over and over and over will produce results. Just like a farmer, we must take a lesson from our Father and understand that building His kingdom requires more than just repeating the same steps over and over. We must be willing and open to changing our approaches, trying new ideas and developing new methods of spreading His Word so that we don't end up missing out on what He has for us. I think there are alot of people out there who just continually try to plant the see, but never try to water it or give it sunlight. Or there are people who are constantly trying to reap a harvest, but they won't take the time to even plant the seeds in the first place. Living a Godly life and accomplishing what God is calling us to is not a one-step process, it's an ever-changing, living process that can only be led by God Himself.

- Lord, give me the wisdom and the strength to not get stuck in a rut doing the same thing over and over again. Help me to change and move along with the world around me so that I will always be effective no matter what the world throws at me! -

Day 213: Is 21:17 - 25:12

In chapter 22, Isaiah brings up a very interesting subject. He makes the observation that the people have been looking and looking, but they never looked to the One who could truly save them. It's sad to say that so many thousands of people, saved and unsaved alike, seem to exhaust every single resource available to them before they turn to God. I see so many people every single day doing everything they can to get more money or gain more influence or be a better person, but they've totally lost the focus of everything. This seems to be a big issue with believers because so many of us spend alot of time trying to find out what God has called us to. And then once we've figured it out, we ignore and forget about everything except for the call itself. We end up devoting everything we have to the "commission" on our lives and don't leave any room for the One who commissioned us. There are alot of believers out there who just need to stop trying to fix things and just let the Creator take over.

- Lord, help me to stop trying to make things work for myself, and just back up and let You take care of them. I know that You are all-powerful and if I will just get out of your way, You can do everything in me that You have planned. -

Day 212: Is 15:3 - 21:16

Something interesting that I've gotten from this passage is the fact that nothing is permanent. We've been reading throughout this entire book so far that it doesn't matter what's going on right now in any of the nations mentioned, There will come a day when everything is turned upside down. This is such a strong reminder to all of us that the way things are right now may change in a heartbeat, and as different as everything on the outside will be, What is on the inside is what will determine how we handle the changes. It all seems to go back to the book of Ecclesiastes and the concept that we live in a horribly temporal and brief world. The things we work so hard for in the natural will be gone in the blink of an eye, but the treasures that we store up in our hearts will last forever. Instead of being concerned about the money and success that the world can offer us right now, we need to rearrange our focus on the love and salvation that we can offer them.

- Lord, help me to keep my focus on the important things. Help me not to get caught up in the humanistic selfish desires of this world and focus on storing up treasures in heaven. We only get one shot at living here on earth and I want to make my one shot count. -

Day 211: Is 10:34 - 15:2

I really like this passage because, for some reason, it reminds me of Psalms 91. It seems like throughout these verses, we see alot of death and destruction going on. We see prophecy or Babylon being crushed, Assyrians being destroyed, Philistia being put so shame, and Moab being reduced to ruins. And yet, in the middle of all of it, we see the nation of Israel standing tall and living in the blessing that God promised them. I definitely see this as a picture of the church in our modern society. It seems like so many people, organizations, and even cities are signing their own death warrants. They're aiming their weapons straight up in the air as if to attack God. But what they don't realize is that the gravity of their own sinful lives is pulling the bullets straight down onto their own heads. But God is protecting His people. If we rebel and participate in the sinfulness of our society, we can't be protected, but if we will seek God first, He will make sure that no matter how much death and destruction happens around us, we will be protected.

- Lord, help me not to be distracted or dismayed by the destruction going on around me. You are my provider and You will protect me as long as I will look to You. You are always faithful to protect Your children no matter what is happening around them. -

Day 210: Is 7:1 - 10:33

The books of Prophecy are so full of content and a little confusing. I may be wrong, but it seems like the writer skips back and forth between the time period that he is living in and the time when Jesus comes. The interesting thing about what I've read so far is that it doesn't appear that God ever just leaves His people without hope. There are verses and verses filled with doom and death and destruction, but then mixed in throughout those passages is hope and a promise of redemption. We must always understand that the choices we make today can very drastically affect the outcome of future events. But even if we find ourselves in terrible situations as a result of past mistakes, we absolutely must understand that we serve a God of redemption and He will be there waiting to pick us back up. I guarantee the Israelites had plenty of times where it felt like it was all over and God would never again hear their cries, but God was always listening and He will always listen to us and deliver us if we will be faithful to turn to Him.

- Father, no matter what sort of mess I find myself in, I know that You are faithful and You will pick me up and deliver me from the pit I'm in. You are always faithful to lift us up when we've fallen. -

Day 209: Is 3:1 - 6:13

I think there are alot of people who read books like Isaiah and think that it's only a book about the children of Israel and their history, but I believe whole-heartedly that the words and prophecies in this book are just as real and relevant now as they ever have been. I fact, we can go through history and see very large groups of people end up falling into the same patterns prophesied about in this book. Any time a nation decides to completely turn its back on God, God has no choice but to let that nation suffer the consequences of the decisions that they've made. And interestingly enough, any time a group of people decides to stand up and strive for righteousness, God honors those attempts and ends up not only blessing them, but bringing hope and restoration to their land. I don't think it's any surprise or secret that our society is going down a dark path, but we must always remember that we ourselves aren't headed that direction which means that there is still plenty of hope for our nation. God didn't call us to sit back and watch our generation burn, He called us to go out and set our generation on fire - not with the fire that will destroy it and sentence it to hell, but with a fiery passion for God that will spread far and wide and bring everyone on their knees and into God's Holy Presence.

- Lord, help me not to sit back and watch my generation go down the toilet. It's true that there are alot of warnings and charges regarding what will happen to our nation when she turns her back on You, but I want to focus on the fact that it just takes a small spark to set a city ablaze. I want to be a part of the solution and not just stand on the sidelines admiring the problem. -

Day 208: Song 6:9 - Is 2:22

As we end the books of poetry and move into the books of Prophecy, I think the second point that I can glean from the book of the Song of Solomon is a great one to consider. Previously, I wrote about the importance and significance of a loving relationship between a man and his wife. In this entry, I want to talk about the obvious parallel that this book has with God's love for His people and the example that this book gives us on how to love Him. I think there are alot of people out there who have a "relationship" with God, but it only goes as far as them feeling like they can gripe to Him about their problems and maybe He'll be nice and help them. Once we get a real revelation of the extent and the depth of God's love for us, it's almost impossible to go through life with the same view of Him and the way our relationship with Him should be. We were created for Him and He loves us more than anything in the entire universe. And amazingly enough, once we finally get to the point where we simply love Him unconditionally all of the other stuff will just fall into place.

- Lord, help me to love You simply for who You are and nothing more. It's easy to get wrapped up in focusing on what You can do for me or how You can help me out, but I know that You are the reason I'm alive and if I will just open myself up to You, You will love me and teach me how to love in a way that only You can. -

Day 207: Song 1:1 - 6:8

I've gotta say, this passage is definitely a refreshing one compared to some of the more serious books I've read so far. There are two things that I can gather from this passage. The first one I'll talk about now and the second, I'll write more about in my next entry. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful example of how a man and wife should love each other. It's sad to see how modern media usually perverts and twists marriage into appearing to be something more like prison or torture. I think every married couple should read this passage and weigh their marriage against the words in it. The love between a man and a woman shouldn't be something that wears out over time or becomes something commonplace. The love that my wife and I share is something beautiful and I pray that each and every day will make our love grow stronger and more beautiful. And for those of you who aren't married yet or can't necessarily say that their love comes close to the love demonstrated in this book, this is definitely an example to work towards. God loves us and He wants us to have the freedom to participate in the same level of love demonstrated in the Song of Solomon.

- Lord, help me to love my wife with a love that only You can give through me. Help me to view my marriage through the eyes of Your Word and make decisions that will reflect Your love through my marriage. I understand that my marriage is one of the most important earthly relationships I could ever have and I want to do everything I can to live it to the fullest. -

Day 206: Ecc 7:29 - 12:14

Although there are alot of things I could say about this book, the last 2 verses of the book really sum it up quite nice. Although there are ups and downs, pros and cons, good times and bad times, the bottom line is that we are called to fear and obey God. I don't know how much time is wasted worrying about and working on pointless earthly projects, but that is not what God has called us to. Instead of stressing out and panicking about fleeting things in this life, we need to look up and look around us. This passage made such a wonderful point about how a living dog is better than a dead lion. As long as we're alive, we at least have one advantage over the dead. Whatever God had called them to, they can no longer pursue it. Whatever they were supposed to do has either been done or it hasn't been, but whatever happened happened and that's the end of their story. We are still alive and as long as there is breath still in our lungs, we have the opportunity to do what God has called us to. So instead of focusing on what our limitations or hindrances are, we can focus on the opportunities and advantages that come from being alive for the short time that God has given us.

- Lord, help me to live a life more optimistic and encouraged. Although things may not always be going perfectly, I am still alive and I still have the opportunities to change those things. Help me to keep my focus on loving others and help my decisions to be influenced by them and not my own selfish motives. -

Day 205: Ecc 3:1 - 7:28

I must say that the book of Ecclesiastes is so far one of the most unusual and interesting books of the Bible. Although the attitude seems to be mostly dark and depressing and negative, it definitely puts a certain perspective on life that we wouldn't otherwise have. It's easy to go through life from the perspective of living right here right now in our own little bubble, but seeing it from this perspective does have a very interesting effect. Although I may not necessarily understand or even agree with every statement that the writer makes, I will agree that too much time is wasted by too many people focusing on the wrong things. I know alot of people who have their entire lives wrapped up in a career. A career is a good thing, but if the whole purpose of trying to advance that career is so that the career itself will continue to go on, that makes absolutely no sense at all. It's like feeding a drug habit - the more cocaine you take, the more you need; the more you need, the more you take. And then one day you wake up and you realize that your whole life was spent feeding a selfish, personal desire that may have helped one or two people along the way, but you never made the difference you were supposed to make because you had no vision. If you're living your life for yourself and nobody else, you have absolutely no idea what life truly is.

- Father, help me to keep the right perspective throughout this walk with You. Help me to turn my focus in the right direction and begin living for the sake of others and not just for myself. I don't want to end this life having done nothing but make my own condition comfortable. I want to listen to You and obey You so I can make the difference that You've created me to make. -

Day 204: Prov 33:33 - Ecc 2:26

I have to admit that I'm not sure I've ever actually read and payed attention to the book of Ecclesiastes, but it already feels like it's going to be more difficult to read than the book of Job. But regardless of how depressing this book may seem. There's still a wealth of truth and wisdom that we can glean from it. So many of us, Christian and lost alike, seem to waste so much of our lives trying to save up for things that will only last for a short while. The writer of this book refers to nearly every single human effort to succeed and get ahead in life as vanity and vexation of spirit. The Message paraphrase of the Bible calls this smoke and spitting into the wind. We serve a God Who wants to bless us with good lives and wealth and riches, but if those are the only reasons we're living this life, we are wasting our time. We're not called to this life so we can get all we can and can all we get. We're called to bring glory and honor to our Father in Heaven. Everything around us will disappear and fall apart, but the treasures that we build up in Heaven will last forever.

- Lord, help me not to waste my life storing up earthly treasures that will never last. Instead of focusing on buying more stuff and making more money, help me to remember that my focus needs to be on helping more people come to know You and bringing more into Your Kingdom each and every day. -

Day 203: Prov 28:1 - 30:32

One thing I think we can learn from the book of Proverbs is the importance of hard work. It seems to me like there are alot of Christians out there who seem to have subscribed to some twisted theology that we're not supposed to work to get anything. They seem to think that their job is to sit around doing nothing and expect to be able to just say a prayer and get exactly what they want. But we can see very clearly all throughout the Bible that God honors those who are willing to work for what's important to them. It's really a very interesting paradigm because in the end the people who work hard towards accomplishing something they could never do on their own end up being blessed with blessings they never should have deserved while the people who sit around and just expect God to shower them with blessings end up getting exactly what they deserve - disappointment. God honors those who are willing to show honor to Him and one of the most honorable things that we could ever do for Him is work hard at building His kingdom and doing what He's called us to do.

- Lord, help me to always have a desire to work hard for You. I don't want to work hard just so I can get some sort of reward. I want to have the desire to work hard so that I can see all that You have called me to come to pass. I want to be obedient to You not for what I can get out of it but for what You can do with it through me. -

Day 202: Prov 24:34 - 27:27

The importance of relationships is a very common theme throughout the book of Proverbs. There are alot of good Christian people out there who think that it's smarter to go through life just me and God. They think that they don't need human relationships because they just slow them down. And then there are other people who think that it's OK to just find anyone to be your friend and it doesn't matter who they are, all that matters is who you are. I believe both of those thoughts are wrong. God has called us to build relationships with those around us and He's instructed us to be careful who we spend time with. We understand that a fool will trust anyone and not give a second thought to it, but wise people get to know who they're dealing with before they strike a covenant with another person. God wants us to pay attention to the relationships put in front of us so that we will have the support we need to accomplish all that God has called us to do.

- Lord, help me to not take for granted to Godly relationships that You've given me. Thank You for putting people in my life who want to accomplish the same things for Your kingdom and I pray that You help me hold on to those relationships as long as possible. -

Day 201: Prov 22:13 - 24:33

You know, whenever I think about the book of Proverbs, what usually comes to mind is really big, deep theological statements and scenarios and complex principles by which to live our lives. But after reading the many chapters that I've read in Proverbs so far, I realize that God isn't just concerned with the huge decisions that will seem to affect everything in our lives, He's also concerned with the smaller things that may have more of an impact than we think. I remember years ago getting into an argument with someone who seemed to think that God was too big and too busy to waste His time being concerned with the "smaller" details of our lives such as where we worked or who we were friends with. What we must remember and understand is that God knows that the big decisions and directions that we take in this life are oftentimes the result of how we handle the smaller choices that have much more of an impact on our lives than we may have first suspected.

- Father, give me guidance to make the right decisions even when it comes to the small things in life. I don't want to just be generally doing the right things in life, I want every single decision I make to be perfectly lined up with Your will for me. -

Day 200: Prov 19:18 - 22:12

It's important to note that many of the things in this book considered foolish are things that our society would see as wise. For instance, in our society, we're told that the best way to get ahead is by stepping on everyone else's neck and finding success by all means. But We see in Proverbs that it's better to be poor and honest that a rich liar. We are taught that it's OK to bend the truth a little bit in order to make your situation better, but God tells us that He sees all that we do and He'll see to it that that type of thing is properly "rewarded." Society tells us to act first and then think, but we see in Proverbs that someone who acts without thinking is foolish and will never experience true success. We're taught that the only one you should ever be loyal to is yourself, and everyone else is looking out for themselves so you may as well do the same. But God tells us to remain loyal to Him and those who God has placed in our lives to walk with us. There are alot of principles in this book that are contrary to what the world would say, and the only way to know what they are is to dig deep and find out what God is saying to us.

- Lord, help me to keep my eyes on Your Word and choose Your wisdom over the world's. Even though the world may be able to offer some pretty tempting deals, I know that true happiness and success only comes from being obedient to Your Word. -

Day 199: Prov 16:18 - 19:17

It's interesting to note that although the book of Proverbs discusses many characteristics that would describe a fool, alot of them have to do with his mouth. One of my favorite subjects in this book is the subject regarding the fact the a fool can be easily spotted by how much he talks. The most interesting point to ponder is that there are alot of people out there who most would consider to be very foolish who may not really much dumber than the rest of us. Their problem is mainly that they don't know when to shut up. I've had friends before who were very quiet and reserved and only spoke if they had something important to say and I've also had friends who seemingly never shut up. And to be honest, I always seemed to have more respect for the first ones. The truth is, you may have an opinion and it may actually help people to hear it, but to think that you have the right to just always tell everyone exactly what's on your mind is foolish and you run the risk of being viewed as nothing more than a fool.

- Father, help me to have the strength to be careful and watch my tongue. I know that I've got alot of good stuff to say, but I know there are also some things that float around in my head that would be much better left unsaid and keeping me from saying them will help prevent me from appearing foolish. -

Day 198: Prov 14:1 - 16:17

Sometimes, we read books or columns about the right way to live, but we aren't shown the wrong way to live so we can avoid that. It's sad to admit, but we as humans can have the tendency to add more good things to our lives without taking the time to remove the bad things. Solomon understood this concept so he was sure, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to not only tell us what we should do, but also tell us what we should avoid. It's oftentimes easy to play the ignorance card in our walk with the Lord. It's easy to say, "well I didn't realize that that was wrong," or "I haven't read anything about it in the Bible so it must be OK." Although many of these concepts should be common sense, for alot of people, they are entirely new concepts so God made sure that all a person would have to do is read the words on the page, determine what they need to start or stop doing, and then do it. If we will judge ourselves according to the Bible, we will be able to live a blessed life full of wisdom.

- Lord, help me to not only begin to do the things that I learn about in this book, but give me the strength to stop doing the things that You have said will hurt me. It's all about balance and I pray that You help me learn that balance so I can life the kind of life that You have planned for me. -

Day 197: Prov 10:32 - 13:25

It's interesting to not the similarities and differences between these passages and the books of the Bible such as Leviticus. These books were both written by the Holy Spirit through the hands of men. They were both written to large groups of people to instruct them on how to live properly. And yet whereas one book gives me the feeling of oppression and legality, the other seems to speak directly to my heart and open up the world to all kinds of new concepts that I would not have normally considered. I think a problem that the church deals with so often is the tendency to preach rules rather than concepts and principles. The book of Proverbs says so many things that might be considered rules, yet the spirit behind the entire book is to communicate strong Biblical principles that we can use in every aspect of our lives. God doesn't want us to memorize a bunch of rules and regulations in order to live blessed lives, He wants us to get a revelation of His principles so that we can naturally make the right decisions based on what we know deep down is right.

- Father, help me to not just memorize a bunch of rules, but help me to store the concepts and principles of Your Word deep down in my heart so when faced with difficult situations, I can dig deep and remember exactly what Your Word says about me and how I should handle myself! -

Day 196: Prov 8:1 - 10:31

It's interesting to view wisdom as a person or a being. In chapter 9 Solomon not only describes wisdom as if it were a person, but he describes her as a person who is calling out, welcoming us all to come and spend some time with her. For most of us, to think of wisdom as a person would probably give us the picture of some very secretive person who is always hiding and we would have to search and search to be able to find her. But Solomon paints a completely different picture for us. Wisdom is not some elusive, secretive thing that only the smartest, most shifty people can find. Wisdom is a gift to anyone who is willing to ask for it. Wisdom is searching to find us so all we have to do is make ourselves available and let God take care of the rest. God desires that each of His children be filled with His wisdom. So let's stop trying to do things our way so we can have the glory, and let's look to Him and let Him bless us with wisdom from above.

- Lord, help me to make myself available so that wisdom can find me. Help me not to search in worldly human places for wisdom, but help me to remember that true wisdom only comes from You and You are just waiting for someone to ask for it. -

Day 195: Prov 4:27 - 7:27

This group of scripture speaks alot about adultery and the consequences of ignoring wisdom in our lives. It's interesting because reading the consequences reminds me so much of our society, and sadly, many Christians' lives. Adultery is such a disgusting sin, and it's also one that seems to come in so many forms, some not necessarily guarding the relationship between a man and his wife. For some reason, when I read these verses, I tend to look at them more in the light of being spiritually faithful to God. Don't get me wrong, these principles are clearly ones that pertain directly to the relationship between a man and his wife, but I believe there are also so many different applications. There are so many people who have been unfaithful to out God and their lives bear the fruit of that unfaithfulness. Just like the adulteress in these passages, there are so many things in our world that are vying for our attention trying to get us to turn from God and allow ourselves to be overcome by their own "beauty." We must remember that those temptations are nothing but empty, perverted imitations of something wonderful and pure and if we will remain faithful to our Lord, we will no doubt see the fruit of that faithfulness.

- Lord, help me to keep the wisdom that You've given me regarding adultery deep in my heart. Help me to guard myself not just in regards to my relationship with my wife, but also in my relationship with You. I don't want to waste my life on a cheap imitation of the real thing. I want the real relationship and all that comes with it! -

Day 194: Prov 1:33 - 4: 26

Wow, it's so hard to think of one thing to write after reading chapters so crammed full of wisdom. I suppose the very subject of wisdom is enough right now to discuss. It's interesting because so many people out there seem to have a very distorted view of what sort of content is in the Bible. People think that the Bible is just full of rules and boring instructions on how to eventually get to Heaven, but we can see in books like Proverbs that God is so incredibly interested in us having the wisdom required to be happy and successful in this life. God doesn't want us walking around in the dark wondering if what we're doing is right. God wants us to just search and we will find Wisdom. I love how Solomon refers to wisdom as if it were a person rather than an abstract thing. I think there's alot more to that than a simple matter of grammar. We're not supposed to see wisdom as some sort of item or commodity, Wisdom is something that we must search for that will stay by our side and walk through this life as long as we welcome it in.

- Lord, help me to stay close to wisdom and not let it get away. Your Word tells us that if we will ask for Wisdom, You will give it to us and I thank You that in this book of the Bible I can not only gain more wisdom, I can also learn how to keep it and not let it disappear. -

Day 193: Psalms 146:6 - Proverbs 1:32

As we close out the book of Psalms, we read somewhat of a conclusion that pretty much sums up the purpose for this amazing book - Praise. We live in a society where all sorts of people receive all sorts of praise for all sorts of things, and none of it is well deserved. Our God is so high above anything on the earth or in our society, next to Him, the things of this world would be better suited for curses. God is worthy to be praised and it is our duty to do everything in our power to give Him the praise that He deserves. In Luke, we read an awesome quote of Jesus' where He reminds us that if we won't be faithful to praise Him, then the rocks would just end up crying out in praise. We are God's greatest creation and to not show Him the honor that He deserves would just be a slap in the face for Him. He created us for many reasons, one of which is to spend our lives offering praise and honor to Him for all that He has done in us and through us.

- Lord, I want to offer all of my praise and worship to You. You are deserving of so much more than I could ever be able to give, but I will give what I can. You created me and everything around me and though I may not have much to offer, I offer up my praise to You. As long as there is breath in my lungs, I will worship You! -

Day 192: Psalms 139:24 - 146:5

Another amazing quality of our Lord is His faithfulness. Once again, our human view of faithfulness could never really do God justice. If I think really hard, the best example I can think of in my life that I could relate faithfulness to would be my relationship with my wife. And it's difficult to even wrap my brain around the fact that she could never be as faithful as God. I mean think about it, even if she absolutely refused to ever leave my side, at some point something, even if it were death itself, would eventually be able to come between us and I would be alone again. But we serve a God Who has promised to never leave us or forsake us, and He's not kidding. All we have to do is stay as faithful to Him as we possibly can and He will always be right there telling us what to do in order to stay in His will. He is faithful, He always has been and He always will be.

- Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. Even in the times when I couldn't possibly remain %100 faithful, You have always been right there waiting for me to come back. You have always been faithful and I know that with Your strength I can be faithful to listen to Your voice and follow Your Word. -